Lean On Me
by xoxo18
Summary: A Clumsy, small town girl named Grace gets to live her dream when she becomes the sixth member of One Direction. Watch as Grace breaks down her walls and starts to form close relationships with the boys, maybe to close.
1. Pulling Through

Grace P.O.V.

The morning sun peaked through my curtains as I slowly opened my heavy eye lids. Today was the day that could make or break my future. My dreams have always been to be a singer but I've never had the right opportunity. So today I'm trying out to be on the TV show called X Factor. For the past two months I've been planning for this moment, but now it was so surreal that it is actually happening. Then again it was now or never.

I climbed out of my puff ball of sheets and rushed to the bathroom to take a relaxing morning shower. By the time I finished showering it was only 6:30 and you didn't have to be at the set until 1:00 in the afternoon. I quickly moisturized my face and flipped my soaking wet hair up into a towel before I headed for my closet. I had already planned an outfit for this event but I made sure it didn't make me look like I was trying too hard. The outfit was made up of dark denim skinny jeans, a form fitting white V-neck shirt, and a vintage brown leather jacket that had just the right cut; so it didn't look to boxy. After that I returned to the bathroom and let down my hair down from my peach colored towel. My hair is a dark chocolate brown color with some natural caramel undertones. I've never really liked my hair color only because the rest of my family has extremely shiny black hair. Since my hair was still wet I put on my make up next. It only took a couple seconds while I swiftly brushed a light pink blush on and nude eye shadow. I did also put on mascara and lip balm. Finally my hair had air dried long enough so that my natural waves were visible so I just keep it the way it was and let it flow down past my chest. Lastly, I clasped my locket necklace around my neck that I wore every day. I had a picture of me and my mom who passed away three years ago when I was fourteen.

I bounded my way down the stairs to see a banana and cup of milk waiting for me on the island counter top. I'm not much of a breakfast eater. I looked up to see my brother cooking himself some eggs on the stove top.

"Morning Travis," he quickly turned around obviously he didn't notice I was there before.

"Hey Grace, are you ready for your big day?" I gave him the "what do you think" look and he just chuckled in response.

"Have you talked to dad?" I was hoping he had called earlier this morning when I was in the shower.

"Yeah, he said that he can't make it today because duty calls, but he wishes you luck." Of course he wouldn't be able to take one day off of work for his daughter. Ever since mother died he has been non-stop working trying to support our family, even though my dad makes good money anyway.

"I wonder what he will buy me this time." Every time my dad can't make it to a school event or birthday party he always sends me and Travis expensive gifts. Acting like that makes up for it. My dad is an international heart surgeon and is always on call. He is never home, always staying at a hotel in whatever country he is in at the time. That is why my older brother takes care of me, he is twenty-one so he can go to all my school meetings and sign permission slips.

"It better be a good gift because I don't think he can make up for missing the most important day of your life," Travis patted my head before climbing the stairs to go get dressed.

"Grace hurry up it's 12:00, we have one hour to get there!" Travis yelled up the stairs at me. I ran down the stairs pulling on my tan ankle boots and balancing my bag on my shoulder.

"Sorry, I was just practicing my song one more time."

After a half an hour car ride, Travis finally pulled up to a big concrete building that had loads of people standing outside with numbers taped to their shirts. I could feel my pulse quicken and my confidence probably drop to 2%.

"Hey don't freak yourself out already, wait till your next in line to do that," Travis said while a cheeky grin plastered across his face.

"Thanks for that." I glanced back at the lines one more time before I headed over to the table where you sign in and get your number.

"What's your name?" the lady at the front desk sternly asked, she obviously didn't waste time.

"Grace Parker."

"Your number is 218; you probably won't audition until around 3:00." And that was it; I just walked off and tried to find my brother in the crowd of overly dressed girls and cocky looking guys.

The wait was almost unbearable because it gave you so much time to second guess yourself and think about how much more talented all the other people in the room have, compared to you. Finally a voice yelled out the magic number and it would now be my turn.

"Good luck, I'm sure you'll win them over with just your smile." Travis stared after me as I opened the big wood doors.

I was greeted with the faces of Louis, Simon, and Cheryl. They didn't look to imitating, but not that friendly either. The sweat started to build up on my hands and my legs started to feel like jelly.

"What's you name dear?" asked Cheryl.

"Grace Parker." I really tried to smile and not in an awkward way.

"How old are you?" Louis questioned.

"17."

"And what are you going to sing for us today, Grace?" Simon eyed me down and I felt my eye twitch.

"I'm going to sing 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera."

"Okay let's see what you got."

I breathed in deeply and then just let the lyrics flow out of me and then when I reached the chorus I just let myself go, but making sure to not let my voice crack when it came to the higher notes. When the song was coming to an end I could feel the heat rise to my face because I didn't want them comment badly about my singing.

"You have great range of vocals with a little more work you could really be amazing," Louis started off.

"Your voice really suits you because it's not all high pitched and girly, I definitely love your whole image," Cheryl commented.

"Well, it was a good song choice and… you actually really impressed me." I could not believe what I was hearing from Simon, it was almost like I was imagining all of this.

"We all agree it's a yes!"

"Thank you so much, this really means a lot." I thanked all of them before I sprinted out the door to tell my brother the good news. My dreams might actually come true.


	2. New Faces

Chapter two:

It had been about a week since my audition and I'm flying out today for bootcamp, which would be where we found out who really was going to be on X Factor. The only problem is that I've never flown before and no matter how much I begged Travis to go with me he denied me saying that he couldn't miss his college classes. After my epic fail at trying to convince my brother to come on the trip with me, I ran upstairs to change. I ended up wearing dark washed, distressed skinny jeans and a cropped, nude sweater that hung off my shoulder. I paired it with my light brown ankle Ugg boots and my locket necklace. After throwing on the same makeup I did for the first audition I began to occupy myself with packing to try and push the thought of flying out of my head. Yet slowly, I found myself done with packing and rolling my suitcase out to the car while Travis brought out my shoulder bag. We were now off to the airport where I would have to say goodbye to my brother for three weeks before I see him again, unless I didn't make it through.

"Do you have your phone, passport, credit card, emergency contact information?" Travis was killing me with questions.

"Yes I have everything and I'm going to miss you so much. Make sure to Skype me every free second you get." Tears started to brim my eyes.

"I'll miss you too sis, don't break too many hearts while you're over there." Yeah like that would happen.

Before I knew it I was sitting on the plan, buckled up and all. I was reading a magazine when a boy who looked maybe the same age as me came and sat down next to me. He had short but wavy hair and brown eyes. I noticed he was wearing jeans and a Jack Wills jumper.

"Hi, I'm Liam. What's your name?" his voice rung through my ears as I barely was able to concentrate on what he was asking me.

"I'm Grace, nice to meet you." We exchanged smiles in a comfortable way.

"By any chance are you traveling for X Factor's boot camp?" Liam asked, kind of in a shy voice.

"Yeah I'm super nervous, what about you?"

"Same, but this is my second time auditioning so I have an idea of what it's like." Right then the attendant lady came over the speaker explaining all the safety precautions and giving us the heads up that we were ready for takeoff.

I could feel the aircraft start to move down the runway and I gripped the arm rests on both sides of me as I closed my eyes. I was just waiting for the plane to start going at full speed, but then I felt a hand on mine. I looked up and saw Liam smiling at me.

"Are you scared of planes?" he chuckled.

"Maybe…just a little…" That's when I felt the plane start to lift off the ground and I found myself gripping onto Liam's hand.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your hand or anything." I could feel my face getting warm as he glanced down at our hands.

"It's fine, it doesn't hurt and I find it really cute," he smiled down at me and I swear my heart skipped a beat.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder as I opened my eyes to see that my head was resting on Liam's shoulder and he was preparing for landing.

"Hey, we are about to land and they turned on the seat belt sign, but I didn't really want to wake you up." I can't believe I fell asleep on his shoulder, I haven't even known him for more than 24 hours.

"Oh My Gosh, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to fall asleep on you or anything. I hope it wasn't that uncomfortable for you." This was so embarrassing.

"I didn't mind at all, it was actually comfortable," he flashed another smile at me.

Both Liam and I exited the plane together and he led us to the baggage claim where we could spot other people who were also going to boot camp. Once we found our driver we rolled our bags outside and watched as the group slowly got bigger. Suddenly, out of nowhere I hear someone screaming Liam's name and we both turned our heads in the direction we heard the voice coming from. Once Liam found out whose voice it was he started to walk toward him.

"Hey Louis, how was sitting in first class?" Liam started to guide this guy named Louis back over to where we were previously standing.

"It was amazing! They give you these hot towels and it totally made my day," I couldn't help but smile at whatever this guy said, it was just so funny.

"So…Liam who's the girl you got there?" I started to blush when I noticed they both were looking at me.

"This is Grace; she is also going for boot camp." I kept me head to the ground too nervous to look up because both these guys were died gorgeous.

"Well mate you found a pretty cute girl," he said to Liam as I looked up in shock.

"I'm Louis." He stuck his hand out for me to shake and I quickly responded by placing my hand in his, but before I knew it, he was kissing my hand instead.

"It's nice to meet you." Wow, could I have come up with anything better than that.

"Everyone please board the bus, we are actually a little late," someone on a mega phone yelled out over the crowd. The three of us grabbed our bags and joined the others on the small compacted bus.

I sat in-between the boys and actually didn't mind. About fifteen minutes into the ride we all were laughing so hard we were killing our abs. We talked about the most random things like shoe sizes, favorite movies, best perfume scent on girls. When the bus finally stopped we all hurried off the bus to get a closer look at the grand hotel that stood before us. I didn't even realize that Louis was yelling at me to snap out of it and that Liam was halfway up the steps to the main entry way, carrying both of our suitcases.

"Sorry, it's just I wasn't expecting it to be a five star hotel," we both laughed because we knew this had to be because of Simon.

Louis and I made our way to the check in desk where Liam was talking with a man named Greg. There was a long line behind him so Louis grabbed my hand and pulled me up to the desk as well, totally line jumping everyone.

"Hey guys, Louis you are rooming with two other guys across the hall from me, and I'm with to other guys also, but Grace you are staying farther down the hall with two other girl's." That's when the nerves kicked in because I'm not always the best with introductions. I totally forgot that I would have to leave the boys when it came to who we were rooming with.

"Awe, Gracie don't be sad we can hang out together all the time still," Liam placed his hand on my shoulder giving me a reassuring smile. I guess my face gave away how I was feeling.

We all grabbed our bags and headed to the elevators where we were squeezed in with about seven other people. We finally got to get off on the twenty-sixth floor, but by then everyone else had also gotten off. The boy's room was about halfway down the hallway when mine was at the very end. We went our separate ways, but promised to meet up after we settled in.

I took a deep breath and then opened the door to be greeted with a strong flowery scent of perfume and clothes already thrown on the floor. The only bed that wasn't taken was the one in the corner where no light seemed to reach. I couldn't find anyone in the room so I decided that now would be a good time to put away my clothes. But when I opened the doors to my closet it was already full just like the other two. I had nowhere to put my clothes so I just kept them in my suitcase. Before I had even had enough time to lie down and relax, two girls around my brothers age walked in. They were both wearing tight bondage dresses with overly caked faces. Their hair was so voluminous that it added on 3 inches to their height.

"Eww! Kelly do you see our roommate?" the girl who was blonde asked the other.

"Yeah, where did she get her clothes…the homeless shelter?" They both broke out into high pitched, preppy laughs.

"Nice to meet you too," I breathed out so they couldn't hear me. I decided that I couldn't take their rude comments anymore and left to go see what Louis and Liam were doing. I ran down the hall to the middle room on the left and knocked on the door. Before I knew it the door swung open to reveal two guys I had never seen before. I looked up and saw that Liam was the one who open the door and then he pulled me into the room to sit next to him on what I'm assuming was his bed.

"Grace meet Zayn (he pointed to a tan boy with black hair), Niall (he was the boy with dirty blonde hair that was highlighted), and that's Zac (it came down to a boy with light brown hair and a cocky smile)." I started to pull at the bottom of my sweater because I could feel their eyes on me.

"Everyone this is Grace." Liam announced.

"So Grace how old are you?" the boy who I believed to remember being Zayn asked.

"I'm seventeen." My response came out rather quiet but they still heard me. Soon I found out that Louis, Zayn, and Zac were eighteen while the rest of us were seventeen. Conversations started to flow better as we all got more comfortable about being together.

"So you're not rooming with these guys?" I stared at Zac because this whole entire time I thought he was one of their roommates.

"Nope, I'm rooming with Louis and this other guy named Harry."

"Grace, do you want to go see what Louis is up to?" I saw Liam giving me a mischievous smile; I knew exactly what he meant.

"Definitely!" Liam and I ran across the hallway while the others quickly followed after us. Liam knocked on the door and then we all bolted down the hallway and around the corner before anyone answered the door. I leaned around the corner to see Louis looking confused before he closed the door again. We all broke out laughing.

"Grace, go knock on the door again." I looked up at Zac like he was a mad man.

"Why me? You guys are faster runners anyway," I pleaded.

"It's okay Gracie, if anything happens we got your back," Niall gave me his cute little smile before giving me a nudge forward.

I took a deep breath and then slowly tip toed toward the door. I looked back at the guys and they were all giving me the thumbs up. Right before I knocked on the door I made sure to get in a running position. Then before I knew what I was doing I knocked on the door, but I could feel my whole body freeze up. It was like I completely forgot what I was supposed to do.

"Grace run!" I could hear the guy's voices screaming from down the hall. It was too late, the door was opening and I had only just started running.

"Gracie get back here, I knew it was you!" Louis yelled after me. His footsteps started to get closer and then I could feel my body being pushed to the ground.

"I caught you!" Louis was on top of me and it was making it hard to breath.

"Grace, are you okay? Louis, get off of her." Liam came running to us.

"No! She is mine!" Suddenly, I felt hands wrap around waist and then I was hoisted up onto Louis's shoulder.

"Louis put me down!" I started slapping his back, but he just continued to walk back to his room. "Liam! Zayn! Niall, Zac! Help me!" I looked up and saw them all running toward Louis, but then I just felt Louis start to run because I was beginning to bounce up and down.

"Look who I found," Louis walked through the door and then locked it behind him.

"Who is that?" I heard a male's voice ask.

"This is my little trouble maker, Gracie." Louis dropped me onto a bed which I was hoping was his. Finally, I got to look up and I was met with piercing green eyes.

"Gracie, meet Harry." We just continued to stare at each other like we were in our own little world, but then there was a loud banging on the door and that broke us out of our trance.

"Louis, you open this door right now. Grace is ours; you can't kidnap her because you want her on your side. She obviously likes us better," the boys were yelling through the door.

"Harry, want to help me get revenge on them for messing with us earlier?" They both exchanged looks before I felt four hands tickling me sides. I could feel my lungs tighten as I began to scream/laugh.

"What are you doing to her? Louis, open the freaking door!" The voices of the boy's yelling behind the door carried into the room, but I couldn't say anything because I was running low on air.

"P…ple..please st... Stop." I was gasping for air now and it was starting to not be a funny joke anymore.

"Louis, I think you should stop before she starts to need CPR," Harry said in a worried tone as he was pulling at Louis. In the faint distance I heard the door open and all the boys piling in.

"Holy cow! Louis, stop! She isn't getting enough air!" I look up and straight into Liam's eyes. Next thing I knew Zayn finally pulled Louis off of me and I gasped for air to fill my lungs. Niall came and sat next to me and started rubbing my back as I laid on my side.

"Are you okay? Zac go get Grace some water," Harry ordered at him, but Zac obeyed.

"Where you trying to kill her Lou?" Liam glared right at him.

"I'm so sorry, I just got carried away. I guess I was in my own world." Louis looked down at his hands while he spun his leather bracelet around his wrist. I got up from my position on the bed and started to walk over to Louis, but dizziness rushed through my body. I closed my eyes and braced myself for the fall but instead firm hands wrapped around my waist. Slowly, I found myself staring up into Harry's green eyes.

"Ummm…Thanks." That was all I breathed out in response because I had been holding my breath the whole time.

"No problem, I think you're still a little light headed from the lack of oxygen." He set my back down onto the bed I was previously sitting on and I rested my head on Niall's shoulder, waiting for the black fog to clear my vision.

Niall let me lay down as he and Zayn sat at the end of the bed talking about what girls they thought were cute since they have gotten here. I looked over and saw that Louis, Liam, and Harry were all playing Pokémon. Suddenly, the door opened and I could instantly smell the familiar perfume and hair spray. There in the doorway was Zac talking with both my roommates who might I add were flirting horribly. I could feel my face pull up into a twist and out of the corner of my eye I could tell the boys saw it too.

"What is she doing here?" the blonde shrieked.

"Wow, she must be a real whore," the sidekick chirped in. Niall and Zayn looked at me and I knew they could tell I was hurt by their comments.

"Hey! Don't say that about our Gracie," Louis glared at them.

"I would say you guys are the real whores. Ever heard of pants?" Zayn snared at them.

"I think you guys should leave now," Liam was trying to push them out the door, but they were not having it.

"Whatever, it's not like you guys can always be there for her to fight her fights since she is our roommate," the blonde starting cracking up and then her sidekick faked a laugh too. The whole room tensed up and then I could feel their eyes burning holes in my skin. Liam and Harry finally forced them to leave and Zac handed me a glass of water that seemed like it took forever to get here.

"Those two girls are your roommates?" Harry asked as he gave me a look of disgust.

"Yeah…kind of, I haven't really unpacked yet because they took up all of the closet space." I gazed up at all the guys as silence filled the air.

"What if you just bunk with us? I mean we could throw a mattress on the ground and I'm sure the guys and I don't have that many clothes so there will be plenty enough closet space." I couldn't believe what Liam was offering. I mean rooming with three other guys was a bit of a risk.

"I don't know. Do you guys really want a girl rooming with you? Don't you think that will make it a little awkward?" Even though my mind told me it wasn't right, I couldn't stop but hoping just a little bit that they would be okay with it.

"Of course! Gracie you're like a little sister to us and it will be so much fun. Just image late night movies, gossiping, maybe cuddling," Zayn started laughing at his own joke while the other guys were trying to contain their laughter as well.

"Come on love, let's go get your stuff and move you in." Niall grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the room. I could tell that these guys were going to be great best friends.

"Wait, do I get to cuddle with Gracie too? I don't want to be left out!" Louis yelled after us and we pretended to ignore him.

After we went and got my suitcase, Liam took my mattress and brought it into their room which wasn't messy just yet. He placed it in between the two single beds on the floor and then he piled pillows and blankets on it. I laughed as Liam and Zayn piled onto it while Niall was moving around some stuff in his closet making room for my clothes. After putting everything away Niall and I jumped onto the mattress too, totally landing on top of Liam and Zayn.

"So what about a movie night tonight with the whole group since we have a week before training starts?" Zayn asked all of us.

"Yeah that sounds good, but you know what would make it better…a horror movie marathon." Niall smiled wide, completely proud of his brilliant idea.

"Okay so the guest list will be me, Niall, Liam, Gracie, Louis, Harry, Zac, and Cher." We all looked at Zayn with a confused faces.

"Who is Cher?"

"Oh! She is like nineteen and I met her when we first got here and told her that we should hang out sometime so I think this would be a good opportunity. It's not like I want anything out of it, but she would be a good friend." I don't think any of us believed him but we let it pass.

"Wait, did you say horror movies?" I could feel my body shrink up on the inside because I know exactly what happens when I watch scary movies.

"Hey, not worries you got all of us to protect you from the scary monsters," Liam pulled me up onto his lap and pinched my sides, making me squirm.

"Yeah, Gracie we're all here for you." Niall and Zayn flashed their prefect smiles at me and I had to give in.

"I'll go give the other's the news while you guys set up the room, somehow we are going to have to fit eight people in front of the TV." Zayn glanced around the room and we all knew that there was limited floor space.

Niall went to go pop some popcorn and grab some other snacks while Liam and I stared at the floor wondering how we were going to pull this off. We decided to leave my mattress on the floor and then lay pillows up against Liam's bed so then we would have a back board. Then we grabbed a lot of blankets and laid them on top of the mattress. It actually looked really comfortable.

"Good work love." Liam held his hand up for a high five and I gave him one but I missed a little so we started cracking up. Zayn come through the door saying that everyone could make it and that they decided to start the marathon at seven.


	3. What Lies Behind

Chapter 3:

"Should we order pizzas?" I asked.

"Already done, do you really think I would forget to order pizza?" I looked up and saw Niall standing in the door frame carrying bowls full of gummy bears, chips, and other unhealthy foods.

It was nearing seven and all of us changed into more comfortable clothes, the boys all wearing track pants with jumpers. I decided on wearing black leggings and a light purple tank top that was a little baggy. I throw on some Ugg slippers and then exited the bathroom. As I was walking back to my room, I saw Zac coming out of his room.

"Hey Gracie," he gave me another one of his cocky smiles and for some reason it gave me the creeps when he used my nickname.

"Hi Zac." I'm trying to be subtle but I don't think it was working. As he starts to get closer and the tips of my fingers became cold. It was almost like my body was giving me a sign that I shouldn't be here with him.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have the most beautiful eyes?" He took the last step closer until I could feel his breath on my face.

"Ummm…no, but thanks…" What do I do? I don't want to seem mean but how am I going to leave without him thinking I'm being rude.

"Grace, I really like you…" My hands flung to my mouth and I could tell he thought that was a good reaction, like I was so in shock that a guy like him would like a girl like me.

"Zac…I just don't think I like you like that…" In moments like these I wish I was one of those really brave girls who have loads of confidence.

"I know you do, I saw the way you looked when you saw me with your roommates, and you're not very good at hiding your emotions. I could practically smell the jealousy coming off of you." He has it all wrong, he misinterpreted the situation. I started to take steps backwards, hoping he wouldn't come any closer. Yet, each time I moved a step back, he would take one forward. Was it strange that all I wanted to do was go running to one of the guys and tell them to keep him away from me?

"Look Zac…" Before I knew what was happening, my head banged against the side wall and he had his hands placed on my hips.

"You can kiss me, it's okay I don't bite." I felt like I was going to vomit all over him and the little voice inside my head told me to do it.

"Please let go." I glanced right up into his eyes and I think he took that as a message to make his move. I sucked in a breath and then made my move. I ripped out of his iron grip and sprinted to my door. Once I was safely inside, I felt my legs give out and I began to sink to the floor.

"Why are you all out of breath? Did Louis tickle attack you again?" I completely forgot that the guys were in the room and I glanced up to see the three of them staring down at me.

Think fast, hurry, come up with something. I've always known I'm a bad lair, but I had no choice this time. Zac was their friend and I didn't want to start a fight right before boot camp and that could throw us all off our game.

"I…ummmm…took the stairs, instead of the elevator because they were really packed." That had to have been the best lie I have ever told.

"What's that on your arm?" Niall squinted at my arm trying to get a closer look.

"Oh this is from a…" I shouldn't have pushed my luck so much with the first lie.

"Is that a hand print?" Liam reached for my wrist, but I quickly pulled it behind my back. Now I really wished I hadn't just worn a tank top.

"Nope, definitely not; it's from the bathroom handle. When I went to go reach for it I missed and my wrist slammed into it instead…haha…" So lame, I hate myself right now.

"You sure?" They all gave me the "yeah right my butt" look so I just averted my eyes and stared at the floor.

"Well, put some ice on it because it's going to leave a bruise." Zayn sighed and continued on like nothing happened; just what I wanted.

It was 7:18 and everyone was here by now, including Zac. I couldn't help but notice him stealing glances at my which in my defense were making my uncomfortable. Niall had the snacks all lined up on the floor and we each grabbed a bowl as we formed a circle on the mattress.

"Since it's still light out why don't we play Truth or Dare until it gets dark?" Louis wiggled his eyebrows at me and I couldn't help but smile.

"I'll get the bottle." Harry got up and searched around then room until he found an empty glass root beer bottle.

"So lads, who is the first lucky victim?" Louis stared us all down and then Zac bluntly announces he will. Please don't let it land on me, I beg you. Can't I have a little luck this time?

"Gracie it's you." You have got to be kidding me.

"Truth or dare love?" Love, what in the world is he talking about?

"…Truth." Everyone booed.

"You're no fun, come on be adventurous…" Zac kept egging me on until I agreed to do a dare because he was starting to pull on my arm.

"I dare you to go jump in the pool with me with only our underwear on." He smiled triumphantly.

"W…What?" This guy had serious problems. First the pool would be freezing since it is night time and second there was no way I was going to strip in front of him.

"Wait, man that's not fair, you know Grace isn't that kind of person," Liam was sticking up for me and I couldn't have been anymore grateful.

"Too bad, because if she doesn't do this then her only other option would be another dare and then I would dare her to give me a lap dance in her underwear." Everyone was in shock because no one said a thing. I honestly cannot believe this was happening right now. If I just quit the game then Zac will say he won and never let me live it down.

"You don't have to do this," Harry whispered in my ear, causing my heartbeat to quicken.

"So what will it be Gracie girl?" The whole room fell silent and I could tell Zac was having the time of this life right now.

"Fine I'll do it." I didn't know if this was the right decision but there was no turning back now.

We all headed out to the pool which was all lite up. Zac had already pulled his shirt off and was starting to unzip his jeans. This was such an uncomfortable moment because everyone was now waiting on me to take my clothes off. I coughed and I looked at Cher and she got the message so she told everyone to turn around. Before I knew it I was only wearing my black underwear and bra. I turned around to see everyone staring at me and I couldn't help but blush. I have to say I did have a toned body only because my brother and I would go to the gym all the time after our farther started to abandon us. It was mostly a way to blow off steam, but then it just became a regularly thing.

"Kinky," Louis winked at me, I bet he was trying to make me more embarrassed then I was before. The other boy's didn't say anything and I was starting to become extremely self-conscious.

"Ready?" I jumped as Liam wrapped a hand on my hip. He was breathing into my ear as Zac jumped in, splashing all of us.

"Nice goose bumps!" Zayn laughed at me.

"You got to jump sometime." Zac was becoming impatient, but I was already cold from the little bit of water he splashed on me. I was not ready to jump into a huge pool full of freezing cold water. Then that's when it happened, two rough arms engulfed my torso and we went flying into the water. Opening my eyes underwater I come face to face with Zac. He still had his arms around me which was making it hard to kick to the surface. Then I realized he was holding me down. I panicked and started to scream but then my lungs were filled with water. I pushed and kicked and then out of nowhere a second body came into the water and then a third. I felt Zac's arms release from around me as another arm pulls me to surface. Once we broke surface I immediately went into a fit of coughing. Then there was a hand on my back, patting it gently and then my coughing slowed.

"What is your problem?" Liam yelled at Zac.

"Were you trying to kill her?" Harry screamed in his face. Both boys were soaking wet but still fully clothed. I looked behind me to see Niall rubbing my back as Zayn came running out of the house, holding a bunch of towels.

"Bug off! It was just a joke to scare you guys," Zac was laughing it off, but that was only making everyone else more annoyed with him.

"Your idea of a joke is not funny," Cher slapped him before coming over to me. I was sitting on a lawn chair that was not the most comfortable thing in the world when you are freezing your butt off.

"Hun, are you okay?" I looked into Cher's eyes and that's when the tears came. Truth be told, I was still scared and I didn't know what to do with myself. Zayn wrapped two towels around me but that didn't suppress my shivering. I didn't want the boys to see me crying so I buried my head in Cher's neck. Then there was a pull on my arm and Liam was standing right next to me.

"I'm going to carry you back to the room while the guys try and find you some warm clothes." I looked down and I was still in my underwear and Liam was still soaking wet too. He lightly picked me up and almost like instinct I found my arms wrapping around his neck and my head in his chest.

Once we got back into the room Harry had already changed and Zac was nowhere to be found; finally. Liam set me on the mattress while he went to his closet pulling out track pants and a different jumper. I looked up and Niall was holding his Mickey Mouse jumper and Zayn was holding up his track pants. Then Cher burst through the door tossing me some new undergarments.

"Do you want us the leave while you change?" Harry quietly spoke, almost like he was afraid he would scare me.

"Yes please." I watched as the boys filed out of the room and I pulled off my wet undergarments. Throwing on the new undergarments and Niall and Zayn's clothes, I looked myself in the mirror and then put my hair in a ponytail. Then there was a hushed knock and Louis wedged his head inside the room.

"All clear boys." Everyone filed into the room except Zac and Cher and that worried me.

"Where is Zac and Cher?" I really hope they aren't together right now; Cher deserves better.

"Well we told Zac to leave and Cher said that she needs to get back to her floor before anyone notices she is gone," Zayn looked a little disappointed. They all came and joined me on the mattress and we decided to finish with our original plans.

"We got to pick, either Saw or Don't be Afraid of the Dark?" Everyone said they had already seen all the Saw movies so we went with the other. We all got under the millions of blankets and huddled together. I was in between Liam and Harry and I could smell both of their colognes. It was about thirty minutes into the movie and the tense music started to play so I grabbed Harry's hand for support. I pushed myself to keep looking at the screen for as long as I could but then a bloody figure appeared and I buried my head in Liam's shoulder.

"Gracie it's only a movie." Liam was rubbing my back and it was starting to calm me down.

"You can look now, nothing scary is happening," Harry squeezed my hand that I was still holding.

The rest of the night went on with me hiding in Liam's chest and Zayn laughing at everything that was supposed to be Scary. I was still holding Harry's hand under the blankets but I could tell he was about to fall asleep since his breathing was becoming heavier. I looked over to my right and saw that Niall was asleep on the very edge of the mattress; technically he only had his arm still on the mattress. Liam looked down at me and I could tell we both knew that we should go to bed since there were only three of us left awake anyway. He pulled the covers up to my neck and told Zayn goodnight before we both dozed off…

_The floor creaked and the wind was hollering through the trees. I was standing in the door frame of the hotel and it was pitch black. The lobby was empty and there was no receptionist at the desk; there was only dust. Suddenly, there were footsteps coming from the left and my hands started to sweat. Thinking fast, I ran to the elevators, but there was no electricity so my only option was the stairs. At floor seven my legs started to burn but then the opening of a door echoed throughout stairwell. Ripping open the door to floor seven I made sure that it closed gently, hoping it did give away where I was. Now where was I going to go, it's not like I could get into any of the rooms without a key. Then the door began to open and I felt a tear slide down my face because I knew it was over; I was caught. A hooded figure appeared from behind the door and that's when I recognized that cocky smile. _

_ "Awe, don't cry. Everything is going to be okay as long as you don't make a sound." He started to walk to me and my heart was in my throat. Sweat started to form on my forehead and I could feel my body start to shake. We both were watching each other closely, hoping that either of us would make a move. Then Zac charged at me and we fell to the floor both banging our heads. He recovered quicker than I did and he already had my arms pinned above my head. _

_ "Zac, please stop! You're hurting me!" I cried out. He straddled me and his face started to get closer to mine and all I could do was close my eyes. _

_ "Zacccc….no…" _


	4. Confessions

Chapter 4

"Gracie, babe wake up!" I opened my eyes in a flash and came face to face with Louis.

"Hmmmmm…whats wrong?" I looked around and they were all looking at me with confused expressions.

"You were screaming in your sleep," Zayn spoke up.

"Was it a nightmare?" Niall added in.

"Umm…yeah it was just a nightmare," I breathed out while I rested my hand on my forehead which was covered in sweat. But if I was sweating, why did I feel cold?

"Grace what is that bruise, it's huge?" Harry looked straight into my eyes.

"Oh, I rammed it into the bathroom door knob…" Even though I was talking to Harry, I couldn't help but look at Liam the whole time. I couldn't help but feel like he knew the real truth.

"I don't believe you." There it was. I knew Liam wasn't going to buy my lame excuses.

"Yeah, to me it looks like a hand print." Harry kept looking at my wrist and the atmosphere was beginning to get tenser every second.

"Just tell us the truth, it's not like we aren't going to like you anymore." Zayn patted my knee while the rest of the group had now formed a close circle around me.

"Well…it…I…Zac" Everyone just stayed quiet and all you could hear was our breathing.

"When?" Liam tensed his jaw and wouldn't even look me in the eye.

"When I was walking out of the bathroom after changing." Please, let this just blow over.

"What did he do?" Zayn questioned.

"He was just…trying to make a move…normal guy stuff."

"Are you out of your mind, no guy hurts a girl physically," Niall stated, like it was a written rule.

"Did he hit you!" Finally Harry said something.

"No! He just grabbed my wrist a little tight"

"More than a little, he left a bruise love." Louis was playing with my hair, trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm going to kill that kid." Zayn was getting up to go to the door.

"Zayn don't! I don't want this to ruin our chances during the competition." I tried giving him my puppy dog face.

"Yeah, but he isn't just going to get away with this!" Great, now Liam joined him.

"Just don't, please...I would feel horrible if you guys got sent home for starting a fight over something as stupid as this." Now I could tell that they knew I had a point.

"Ugh! So what now, we just let Zac off the hook?" Zayn said, obviously backing down.

"We can't just let him continue to harass Grace like he is some big shot player." Liam and Zayn continued on with their little conversation while Harry began to ask me his own questions.

"Why didn't you just tell us when it first happened?"

"I didn't want this to effect all of our performances and I knew that you guys liked Zac as a friend and I didn't want to screw that up." I couldn't look him in the eyes so I started to play with the hem of Niall's Mickey Mouse jumper.

"If this happened before the party, then why did you agree to still to the dare with him?" Now everyone was listening, obviously curious about the same thing.

"I knew that if I didn't he would tease me about it for a long time and…I was embarrassed that you guys would think I was a wimp for not doing a dare…"

"You're such an idiot! We wouldn't have cared because we know you aren't like that, but that's okay because we like you for who you are," Harry's words lingered in the air. Out of nowhere Louis jumped on me and gave me the biggest bear hug ever.

"You're so cute, did ya know that?" Louis squeezed me one more time before getting up and grabbing a bag of Sour Patch Kids. Man, was he good at making an awkward situation, not awkward.

"Let's all just agree to not let Zac near our Gracie until his sorry butt gets voted off the show," Louis looked around the room to make sure everyone was okay with that.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean he doesn't deserve a proper beating," Zayn trailed on.

"For right now though, we can't do anything boys because we got ourselves in a sticky situation." Only Louis would say something like that, but we all laughed anyway.

"Now for some fun, Gracie, open your mouth," Louis instructed me.

"W..What, why?" Before I could get an answer a yellow Sour Patch kid hit me in the nose.

"Gracie you got to catch it IN your mouth!" The rest of the night went on with us all laughing at random stuff Louis would do. After that I can't remember much, just that we all finally fell asleep around 4:30 in the morning.

The smell of cologne shot up my nose and the sound of feet shuffling across the floor woke me up. I could barely open my eyes because someone opened the curtains, allowing the sunlight through. In the distance I thought I heard Liam telling someone to be quieter. Today was the day everyone got to go into town and shop; you know to get more comfortable with each other. But, that wasn't all that was planned. The administrator told us yesterday that had a huge day planned out, that consisted of bonding with our fellow competitors. After lying in bed for ten more minutes I decided that I had to get up sometime, but that wasn't as easy of a task as I thought it would be. To my left, Niall's face was only centimeters away from mine and you could smell the sugar on his breath. To my right, Harry had his arm draped over me; resting on my waist. The biggest problem was that Louis was crashed over my legs, making it impossible to get up without waking everyone.

"Need some help?" I looked up to see Zayn fully clothed and showered.

"Yes please." As Zayn walked to the foot of the mattress, I got a whiff of his cologne. So he was the one who sprayed it this morning, I think he might have sprayed too much. Zayn lifted Louis off my legs and set him down on his bed instead. Now it was my turn. I wiggled out from under Harry's arm and tried my best not to hit Niall in the face, but while I was doing so Liam started to laugh from behind me.

"Aren't you in a "sticky situation" love?" We both smiled at the memory of Louis last night.

"I guess I am." We both smiled at each other, but it was died silent other than Zayn's small movements by his closet. Liam broke out of the stare first, offering me his hand and I gladly took it.

"You might want to get ready before they wake up because then you'll never get enough time in the bathroom. I thanked him for warning me before opening Niall's and mines closet. What should I wear to go into town? Something that won't make me roast in the sun because I didn't want to be sweaty all day. Finally I decided on distressed short shorts and a short sleeved crop top that had a tribal print on it. I grabbed my brown sandals and my usual bathroom supplies and then headed out the door and down the hall to the bathroom. Surprisingly, no one was in there because the door wasn't locked, which meant I wouldn't have to wait forever.

After showering and putting on my usual makeup, I got dressed and let my wet, tousled hair down and ran me fingers through it. Today I didn't really care what I looked like because I was so tired from last night that I barely had enough energy to shave my legs in the shower. When I walked out of the bathroom there was a line of girls waiting, all of them giving me death glares. I picked up my pace a little bit, feeling uncomfortable in the hallway. Once I was safely inside the room I saw that everyone was up and dressed. Might I add that the boys did look really hot in their outfits.

"Morning Gracie, so I heard Niall and Harry were a little too close for comfort last night." Louis wiggled his eyebrows at me and I could tell I was starting to blush.

"Anyway, who's ready for some shopping?" Harry butted in; he must have noticed the awkward tension.

"There is no better way to bond then some power shopping!" Louis yelled, causing us all to question how he had so much energy this early in the morning.

"Today is going to be amazing. You want to know why, because I'll have all my friends with me and no one will ruin it. We are the fantastic six!" Louis may have spoken to soon…

_~I hope you guys like the story line so far because I have so much planned for the upcoming chapters. Please review and give me any ideas of what you want to see happen later in the story~_

_P.S. I bet you are wondering who Grace will fall in love with, leave a comment on who you think it will be…_


	5. Uncontrollable

Chapter 5:

We all boarded a bus which consisted of all the other members including Zac, who was sitting next to my ex-roommates in the back. I'm sure they got together last night from all the hickeys on their necks.

"Just don't look at him," Liam whispered in my ear. There was hardly any room left on the bus since we were the last to board. It was all Zayn's fault; he couldn't stop checking himself out in the mirror. He probably wanted to look good for Cher even though he says nothing's going on between them. At the front there were two seats next to each other so Louis and Zayn took them since Cher was sitting fairly close to the front.

"Gracie, just sit on one of our laps or else one of us is going to have to sit in the back all alone," Louis smirked.

"You would like that wouldn't you," Harry winked at Louis.

"Here, Grace sit on my lap," Niall offered. I gently sat down on Niall's lap while the other boys sat next to us.

"How come you get Gracie," Louis was whining to Niall and all I could do was laugh at how cute he was.

It was about ten minutes into the ride and Niall and I couldn't stop laughing because we were making funny faces at Zac; who wasn't really looking. Harry and Louis were in a deep conversation talking about what stores they wanted to go to once we got there. Out of nowhere Niall started to bounce his legs up and down making me slid all around.

"Naill!" I couldn't stop laughing.

"Woah, looks like it's a bumpy ride," he gave me one of his cheeky smiles.

"I'm going to fall into the aisle." I wrapped my arms around his neck trying to keep my balance. Then I felt his arms wrap around my waist and then pull me in closer.

"Better?" The blood started to rush to my cheeks, making it obvious that I was blushing.

"Better."

We finally made it into town after a half an hour ride and Louis couldn't hold it much longer. Once the bus doors flung open he sprinted out, in search for the toilets. When I made it off the bus I noticed that the sun was hidden behind the clouds making the town look dead, but there still were a few locals. I guess that is a good thing because then we could shop wherever we wanted without having to worry about a line.

"Let's go to the candy store first so we can get some sugar running through us since we didn't get much sleep," Niall grabbed my hand and started pulling me to a store with huge lollipops in the window. Behind me Liam, Harry, and Zayn just stood there not following us like I thought they would.

"Shouldn't we tell the others where we are going?"

"Nah, they'll meet us at Jack's." We entered the store hand in hand and the sales clerk looked up from his magazine. Niall handed me a bag and then that's when we just went crazy. Niall ran down the aisle, pumping candy from every tube into his bag. I couldn't help be smile and forget about the whole Zac thing.

"Gracie, hurry! You got to stock up because the boys will eat like half your bag!" By the time we decided we were done we had filled four bags full. Two of them where his and two were mine, yet he insisted that he pay for mine too. That's when I realized that Niall really was someone that I could always count on to be there for me. His high energy just makes you want to be happy all the time when you are with him.

"We better get going; the boys are going to think I'm hogging you." He through his arm around my shoulder and we made our way to the Jack Wills store.

"Where have you guys been? We already bought our clothes and everything," Zayn questioned us right when we walked in the door.

"Sorry we just got carried away in the candy store, but we got enough so that we can share, so be nice to us," poor Niall was defending both of us.

"Well…since you brought candy, I guess I can forgive you." We all smiled and Niall opened one of the bags so that Zayn could get a hand full sweetish fish.

"Oh yeah, Grace, Liam and Harry bought you something, they are in the back looking at hats." I'm assuming that was him telling me to go look for them. I walked all the way into the back where music was playing really loud, to find Louis, Harry, and Liam trying on animal hats.

"You guys look cute." They all turned to me and then smiled, trying to cover up their embarrassment that they were caught.

"Look at this shirt we got you!" Louis dug into his bag and pulled out a shirt that said "Cute is the new Sexy".

"When we saw it we all thought of you," Harry glanced up at me, holding my gaze for a while.

"Awe, thanks guys, I got you something too." I pulled out three rainbow lollipops and handed them to them.

"You are seriously my new favorite person." Louis couldn't stop grinning.

After a little more shopping we all decided that the sugar was wearing off and we needed real food instead. When we got to the food court a lot of people were already there, I think it was because it was rush hour. I told the boys that I would go get us a seat while they wait in line at Coney Island. I seriously think that I walked around for hours looking for just one open table, but I could never seem to find one. That's when I saw a family getting ready to leave.

"Hi, are you guys done with this table?" The lady nodded yes and picked up their trash. I sat done playing with my phone when I looked up, straight into Zac's eyes. He was sitting with my ex-roommates again and they were hanging all over him like he was a god or something. They looked up to see who he was looking at and then that's when the daggers came out. They didn't seem to like that fact that they didn't have his full attention so they got up from their sits and headed toward me. To make matters worse Zac decided to join them.

"Are you sitting by yourself? Loner!" blondie spat in my face.

"Did the guys finally realize that you're a bitch and ditch you?" her sidekick joined in.

"It's okay Grace you always have me," Zac smirked and then took the seat next to me, pissing off blondie.

"How about you and me go find a closet so we can talk in private…" Please let the guys show up any second now.

"No…I'm okay with talking right here." Keep stalling.

"I don't think we would be doing much talking," he pinched my sides, making me jump.

"I'm better off just staying right here…" Stay strong.

"Well I don't think you are!" Zac pulled me up out of my chair making blondie spill her coffee all over me. Even though the coffee was burning my skin it didn't compare to the pain of Zac's grip.

"Let go!" The look in his eyes made me scared; he was not going to give up without a fight. That's when the tears fell, I knew I was helpless.

"HEY! Get your sick hands off of her!" We both whipped around and came face to face with Harry; Liam and the rest were standing behind him.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Zac continued to hold his ground, gripping tighter on my waist. A whimper escaped my lips and Liam looked right at me.

"You bastard, let her go!" Liam stepped forward getting into Zac's face. You could tell the Zac was starting to lose his confidence after he realized it was five verse one. Everyone was on edge and I could feel my heartbeat rising. It seemed like no one moved an inch, but I was starting to notice that it was becoming difficult to get air through to my lungs. My pulse was pounding in my head and there was a strange ringing in my ear. Then blackness…

_~Hope you guys liked this little dramatic chapter. Tell me if you have any ideas for future scenes! _


	6. Twisted

Chapter 6:

The bright light was the first thing I saw, then white covers, and then the white walls. I looked to my left and there was a table with a glass of water and a damp washcloth. On my right, there were a bunch of stuffed animals with empty candy wrappers. Outside the window it was pitch black; not a single star visible. Where was I and how did I get here? I lifted up the covers to see that I was in baggy, navy blue sweatpants, and Niall's Mickey Mouse jumper. When did I change? That's when the scent hit me; it was the familiar scent of Zayn's cologne mixed with the smell of dirty laundry. I must be back at the hotel in the guy's room, but where were they? That's when I heard the sound of the door lock clicking open and in walked Liam.

"Hey, when did you wake up?" He walked over to me and sat on the side of the bed.

"A couple minutes ago…how did I get here?" My voice sounded scratchy and dry.

"We brought you back here…" Liam looked at me with a concerned expression.

"Why don't I remember that?" I'm sure I would have woken up when we got off the bus.

"Grace…I think I should go get the others so we can all talk about this." He reached down and pushed my bangs out of my eyes and then let a sigh out.

"I'll be back." Then he got up and left. Is it weird that I got butterflies when he touched me? But I quickly pushed that thought to the back of my head because I started to hear multiple footsteps coming through the door.

"Gracie! You're finally awake!" Louis ran over to the bed and flung himself on me.

"How long have I been asleep?" The whole room got quiet.

"You were out for roughly thirteen hours," Zayn came forward since no one else seemed to be making an effort too.

"That's weird, I wasn't even tired." Tension grew and I knew that they weren't telling me something.

"By chance do you remember anything that happened earlier today?" Niall came and sat down next to the bed.

"I remember going into town and…buying candy with Niall…" I looked up at Harry who was leaning against the opposite wall, looking down.

"For bloody sake will someone just spill the beans already!" Louis exploded making everyone jump.

"Fine, look Grace when we went to the food court, you went to go find us a table while we got the food. We were only gone for a couple minutes and when we came back Zac was grabbing at you violently. So we started to yell at him, but out of nowhere you collapsed while we all weren't looking. Liam picked you up and carried you to Sandy (the supervisor); he told her that you were sick so she called us a cab. We took you back here, unsure if we should take you to the hospital. We decided to go to the lobby and ask for a doctor. He examined you and told us that you had a panic attack and would wake up in a few hours. Do you honestly not remember?" Zayn explained it really straight forward.

"By the way, if you're wondering who changed you it was Cher, when she came back she told us that you needed to be in more comfortable clothing." I love how Louis knew what I was going to ask next without me having to say anything. Yet, there was something strange about both Harry and Liam. Every time I looked at them they wouldn't make eye contact.

"So where is Zac?"

"Probably icing his face," Niall uttered under his breath, but I still heard it.

"Why?" This time no one spoke at all.

"Is someone going to tell me or do I have to go ask him myself?" I knew that if I said that someone was bound to tell me.

"Well…when Zac got back Harry and Liam kind of went off on him. Harry may have through a couple punches and Liam could have kneed him where the sun doesn't shine but other than that nothing really happened."

"What! Are you guy's crazy? You could get kicked out of boot camp, why in the world would you do that?" I can't believe they would be that senseless.

"Because you're like a little sister to us and there was no way he was going to get away with hurting someone that we all care so much about," Harry broke out.

"Besides he deserved way worse; it was just a little warning to leave you alone," Liam added in, while he sat next to Niall. Then there was silence once again, making things awkward.

"What matters now is if you are okay?" Harry's voice carried across the whole room.

"Yeah, we were all worried you would never wake up," Niall said while playing with my hair that was hanging off the side of the bed.

"I feel fine, my throat is a bit dry but other than that I'm good."

"Good because tomorrow we get to learn a dance routine so we got to be at our best." Louis looked overly excited to finally get the chance to bust a move.

"Why are you happy that we have to dance? All I'm going to do is embarrass myself," Zayn sighed.

"Because there are going to be hot dance instructors, where is your head boy?" Louis through is arms up for more of a dramatic effect.

"Right! Where was my head," Zayn laughed. The rest of the night consisted of the boys betting on how many numbers they were going to get tomorrow and in the end we all just crashed in the same room.

The next morning I woke to my tummy growling at me. Then it dawned on me that I hadn't eaten anything but candy yesterday. Slowly, getting up I grabbed my usual bathroom supplies and went to take a shower. I did my daily routine then pulled on knee length, black leggings and the shirt the boy's got me yesterday. Before going down to the breakfast room I ran back to my room to get my phone that as almost died. The light was blinking green which meant that I had a message. I slide open my phone to see that I had seven texts from my brother and one of the said "Are you still alive?" I texted him back filling him in on my plans for today and telling him that I was doing good. I don't want to tell him about the Zac issue because I don't need him to worry. Once I got to the breakfast room I poured myself some tea, and then grabbed a bagel. Not that many people were up yet so I got to sit at the window seat. This gave me time to really think on my own about what has happened these last couple days. Besides Zac, everything is going better than I had thought. I've made five amazing friends that accept me for me and I've got to experience what true friendship is. Right now my life is where I've always dreamed it would be and I hope nothing will ever change.

Everyone was finally gathered together on stage around ten and we were all just waiting for our instructions, but we weren't expecting what came next…

"Okay everyone, today we are going to teach you a dance that you will then memorize and perform in front of the judges. But there is a twist; you are going to be partnered up with another dancer that we will provide. Which means you will perform as a pair."

_~Thank you guys for all your reviews, they really make me want to write all the time! Tell me what your favorite part of the story is so far and if you think it's time for one of the boys to get a girlfriend~ _


	7. Backstabber

Chapter 7

Everyone got split up into one of the seven different groups, luckily for me Liam and Harry were both in my group. Louis and Niall were together while Zayn was in a group all by himself and he couldn't have looked more petrified. Before I could even get a chance to tell him he would do fine, we were pushed into separate studio rooms. Liam, Harry and I sat down in the back as a group of male and female dancers entered the room.

"We will now be assigning you your dance partners and then you will be given two hours to create and learn your dance," the instructor announced. We were all told to stand in a straight line and wait for our partner to come to us. Liam got partnered up with a girl who looked to be seventeen with black, short curly hair. Harry was paired up with a blonde who had really blue eyes. Was it weird that I was feeling jealous? That's when a boy who looked to be eighteen with black hair walked up to me.

"Hi, I'm Carter. You must be Grace." I couldn't help but notice how his midnight black eyes peaked out from under his hair making him give off a mysterious vibe.

"Yeah…that's me." I couldn't find it in me to look into his eyes because I knew I would get lost in them. There was just something about his whole bad boy image that kept drawing me to him.

"We should probably work on our routine now since we don't have much time," he smiled, revealing perfect white teeth.

"A…yeah, where should we practice?" The whole studio was already filled and couples were already working on their dance moves.

"We don't want anyone to steal our dance so how about over in the corner…" He winked at me and then I felt his warm hand grab mine. He pulled us both over to the corner in the back of the studio.

"Since you really want to impress the judges, I was thinking we should put a lift into the routine, it will really surprise them." From then on we continued to discuss ideas and then we started practice the beginning of the routine. About an hour later we had the whole dance down except the lift.

"I don't think I can do this, I really don't like heights." Carter wanted to lift me up and spin me around his neck, but I haven't been able to find the courage to even attempt the move.

"Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," Carter breathed out on the back of my neck, giving me chills.

"Ready?" I nodded in response and then Carter placed his hands on my waist and lifted me into the air, then around his neck, and before I knew it I was back on the ground.

"See it wasn't that bad." He flashed me another one of his perfect smiles. I could still feel his hands on my waist and neither of us made an attempt to move them. That's when we both heard a cough behind us, making us jump apart.

"Gracie, can we speak to us?" It was Liam and Harry and they both didn't look happy.

"Sure, Carter I'll be right back." The three of us headed out into the hallway where it was completely silent.

"What's up?" I watch as they both gave each other a look before Liam spoke up.

"Look we wanted to talk to you about Carter."

"We've heard things about him and they aren't good things," Harry rested a hand on my shoulder.

"What have you heard?"

"That he sleeps around with all the dancers and that he is a total player." Liam rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Who told you that?" I was becoming defensive for no reason.

"Our partners told us to warn you." I cannot believe that they would believe their dance partners, I bet they just want Carter all for themselves, so they are trying to make me back off.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think Carter is that type of guy." I know that they will be made at me for not trusting them but I just can bring myself to believe that Carter would be like that.

"So you're picking him over us?" Harry looked more than pissed, his fists were clenching and I could see his jaw flex.

"Don't think of it like that, I just don't trust what your partners told you; it could be a rumor." That set them off.

"So you are picking him over us," Liam started to side with Harry.

"No I'm not." My heart was pounding against my chest, and I could feel my temperature rising.

"Yes you are." Harry roughly took his hand off my shoulder and both he and Liam stormed away. Great, now they hate me. Good going Grace, you've just lost the only real friends that you've ever had.

"Grace, are you ready? It's our turn next," Carter popped his head out of the studio which almost gave me a heart attack.

"Yeah, sure," you could hardly hear me, but it was recognizable that I didn't have much enthusiasm.

"You'll do fine, don't be nervous." There is was Carter's amazing smile, it literally made me forget all my worries and just focus on him.

We walked out onto the stage that now looked way bigger because it was only Carter and I standing on it this time. Down below were the judges who looked overly bored and unimpressed. They asked us the usual questions like what was my name, how old was I, and who was my partner. Then Carter gave the stage director the signal to start the music.

"Just breath, I promise I won't drop you," Carter then placed his hands on my waist and moved the both of us around the stage. I didn't even realize I was dancing until it was time for the lift. We were right one time with the music and Carter whisked me into the air like it wasn't even a problem. By the end of our dance we were both fighting to catch our breath. That was the hardest we had ever perform the dance and we managed to not mess up once.

"See you later." That was all Simon said before signaling us to leave. Once we made it behind the curtain Carter picked me up and spun me around.

"Ahhhhh! You were amazing!" Carter yelled in my ear.

"Put me down!" We both were laughing hysterically.

"Fine if you insist." He set me down but we both continued to laugh at ourselves. That's when out of the corner of my eye I say the guy's glaring at us. I'm guessing Liam and Harry told the others about our fight. Neither of us said a thing to each other and we just let the awkward silence speak for us.

"Harry Styles and Jessica Smith, you're up next," the stage director gave them a warning. Harry passed us on the way to the stage opening but he didn't even acknowledge me. Talk about the cold shoulder.

After all the contestants performed their dance they called us all back out onto the stage and told us that tomorrow we would get the final results on who officially made it through and who didn't. I don't think there are words to describe how nervous I was, but that didn't stop me from thinking there was still hope.

"Hey girl! Are you coming to the party tonight? It was Sandy's idea so that we can all get together before half of us go home tomorrow," Cher asked me while she squeezed me into a hug.

"I guess so; I mean everyone is probably going." How awkward will this be now that I have no one to hang with since the boys are still mad at me.

"Yeah I don't think there is a single person not going; don't be that person. Oh, you can bring your hot dance partner if you want because I see the way you two look at each other," Cher nudged me then winked before she walked off to tell the others about the party. Looks like I should go find Carter and ask him to go since I could count on him to be the one person that will actually talk to me tonight.

"Hey Carter, do you want to go to this party the X Factor is holding tonight?" I wasn't that nervous to ask him since we were just friends.

"Yeah that sounds cool, what time is it at?" Shoot, I forgot to ask Cher since I just figured she would tell me back at the house.

"Ummm…I forgot to ask…"

"It's fine, I'll just give you my number and you can text me once you know." I handed Carter my phone and he put his number in and then smirked up at me.

"What are you smiling about?" Not that I minded.

"You'll see. Anyway I got to go so just text me later with the details." He pulled me into a hug and then left.

Back at the house, everyone was running around getting ready for the party. The boy's still haven't talked to me yet and it was starting to make me nervous. I surely thought by now one of them would crack. Guess I was wrong. I figured now would be a good time to text Carter that the party was going to start at nine at a club called Live. I opened my contacts and went to the C's but when I went to click on his name I saw that his contact name was "Carter is so sexy". That must have been what he was laughing at earlier. After texting him I headed to my room which I had been avoiding since the moment I got home. But I realized sooner or later I was going have to change my clothes. Right as I reached for the door handle Louis yanked it open to reveal all the boy's standing behind him ready to leave. They all were dressed up for the party and I couldn't help but notice that they looked hot. Zayn was wearing dark skinny jeans with a white V-neck t-shirt and then a varsity jacket over top. Louis was wearing deep red skinny jeans and a blue and white striped shirt with suspenders. Niall had on a tight fitting blue polo with khakis pants. Liam was wearing boot cut blue jeans with a plaid shirt that hugged his biceps. Then Harry stood behind him wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a white V-neck t-shirt with blazer over it. I didn't get too long to stare because they all brushed past me without a single nod. Once they were all out the door I ran into the room before they could notice the single tear that fell down the side of my cheek. The door slammed behind me and I hurried to the closet to pick out what I was going to wear. I needed to busy myself with getting ready so I didn't think about the boys.

After staring at my clothes for a while I pulled out a form fitting black dress that went to my mid-thigh. At the top of the dress there was lace that started at the tip of my chest and then covered my shoulders. I pulled it on then moisturized me legs before pulling on some nude heels. As fast as I could I reapplied my makeup and then pulled my curls back into a messy bun, letting a few strands fall. My phone alarm started going off telling me it was 8:30 and that was when the bus was coming to take us to the club. Everyone was already on the bus when I got on so there was no one to sit next to. My only option was Zac. It was a take it or leave it situation and I decided to take it. When I sat down I could see the boy's shocked expressions and I could care less because honestly Zac was being nicer to me than they were at the moment. He was at least talking to me. Even though I hated Zac, he wasn't that bad a small talk. At the start it was awkward and then he started telling me about his life back home and for a brief moment he seemed like a normal teenage guy. Before he got the chance to ask me about my home life the bus came to a stop and everyone was getting up to leave. Since me and Zac were sitting near the front we got off before the guys did. I have to admit that I was having a server case of butterflies the whole bus-ride because I couldn't stop thinking about Carter's smile. The only reason why I was excited for tonight was because he was going to be there. But my excitement didn't last long because once I stepped off the bus I saw Carter sucking on Jessica's neck with his hands up her skirt and hers up his shirt. I should have known better.

~Definitely tell me what you guys think and I hope you liked this chapter~

XOXO


	8. Out of Line

Chapter 8

No matter how badly I wanted to look away I couldn't. No matter how much I wanted to believe that they were both just really drunk, I knew they weren't. No matter how badly I wanted someone to tell me "I told you so", I knew it would hurt if they did. Every second that went by felt like it was going in slow motion. I watched as Carter's hand slowly made its way to her chest and how Jessica started to unbutton his shirt. That's when I felt hands cover my eyes and I come face first into a plaid shirt; Liam.

"You shouldn't have seen that," Liam pulled me away from his chest at arm's length so he could look me right in the eyes.

"You can tell me you told me so…" He let out a small laugh.

"Now why would I tell you something that you already know?" He raised his eyebrow at me.

"Because you were right..." That's when a tear fell down my cheek and I could feel the rest of the boy's presence behind me.

"Hey, don't cry he isn't worth it," Zayn come around Liam and rubbed my back.

"I feel so bad that I didn't believe you guys…I'm so sorry; I really messed up." How could I have been so stupid to think that this super-hot bad boy actually was into me and only me? I should have known he had a load of girls lined up ready to do anything he asked for.

"We forgive you Gracie," Louis pulled me into a side hug while flashing me a cheeky smile.

"I'm so glad that we don't have to ignore each other anymore, it was so hard. I seriously thought about ditching the whole idea," Niall blurted out. Oh how I missed these guys.

"Come on; let's not let some tool ruin our night, I mean we are at a club." Louis grabbed mine and Niall's wrist and started to pull us past the red rope.

Once we got inside you could immediately feel the bass of the music pounding in your heart. The multicolored lights flashed throughout the room and you could smell alcohol mixed with sweat. I quickly reached for Harry's hand out of reflex because I was scared I was going to get lost. He looked down at me and then squeezed my hand.

"Let's go to the VIP area that's for all the X Factor contestants," Zayn shouted over the music. We all walked in a straight line through the dance floor since it was hard enough to make enough room to squeeze between the dancers on your own. But Harry never once let go of my hand and vice versa. We walked up a couple steps to this rounded off lounge area where Cher was sitting with some of the other members.

"Hey guy's I was wondering where you were, do you want anything to drink?" Cher asked. We all looked around at each other knowing that Louis was the only one old enough to legally drink.

"Yeah, hand me a beer." Louis got a beer and so did Zayn. Niall was drinking some kind of soft drink while I stuck with good old water. After a while of sitting in the lounge we all decided to go to the dance floor. Louis started to do some crazy moves while Zayn and Cher started dirty dancing together. It didn't really matter because that's what everyone else was going. Both Louis and Niall grabbed some random girl and began gridding together like it didn't even matter that they didn't know their names. Liam, Harry, and I just continued to jump to the music because we were the only ones still sober. It was starting to get really hot so the three of us decided to step outside to get some air, but right as we opened the doors I came face to face with Carter. I could clearly see red lip stick all over his face and neck and that his shirt was exceptionally wrinkly. I felt Liam wrap an arm around my waist and try and steer me away from Carter but it was too late.

"Grace where have you been all night? I was starting to think that you were ditching me," Carter gave me a pouty face.

"Oh sorry I couldn't find you early," the lie rolled right off my tongue. I didn't dare look at Harry or Liam because I knew they would be giving me a "What the Hell" look.

"That's okay, at least we found each other now," Carter reached out for my hand but I swiftly flinched away. Carter looked confused for a second but pushed it aside.

"Let's go dance, I really want to see how well you can move your hips." Gross, the three of us watched as he licked his lips; what a turn off.

"I thought that was what Jessica was for?" Harry stepped in and you could hear the sarcasm dripping of his voice.

"Who is Jessica?" Great, now he is going to play dumb.

"Don't even try to pretend you don't know who I'm talking about," Harry warned, stepping dangerously close.

"Oh are you talking about your dance partner," Carter tried playing it cool and you could tell it was getting on all our nerves.

"Look I saw you two sucking faces earlier tonight so don't lie to me," finally I got the courage to speak up, but I was about to gradually lose that confidence.

"Gracie, that didn't mean anything, besides you are way more beautiful." Again he tried reaching out for me but this time Liam pulled me away from him.

"Dude, just walk away, she clearly isn't interested in you," Liam glared at him.

"What would you know?" Carter got in his face.

"That Grace deserves better than a scum bag like you." They continued to glare at each other and I knew I had to do something or this would go on forever.

"Carter I'm sorry but I don't think we should be friends anymore…"

"I know we shouldn't, that's why we should be more." A creepy look rose on his face, giving me the chills.

"That's not what she meant," Niall firmly stated. I turned around to see that the other boy's had joined us.

"What she meant is that she wants nothing to do with you so back the frick off." Harry's temper was starting to show and so were the rest of the boys.

"Why don't you let Grace speak for herself, you over controlling losers!" That set everyone off and Carter could see that.

"Whatever you can have Grace; I just thought she would be an easy win. I mean have you seen how vulnerable she is; I'm not surprised she hasn't been raped yet." Before I could process what he said Harry hit Carter right in the eye.

"Don't you dare ever say that again." But Carter wasn't about to back down, the punch just pissed him off even more.

"Say what? That Grace would be a good fuck." Carter smirked because he knew he was getting the attention he so desperately needed.

"I'm going to kill you!" Harry raged and then full on charged at Carter. Zayn and Louis were roughly holding Harry back while Niall held Liam in a tight grip.

"Come on guy's let's just go before we waste anymore of our time on this foul." Zayn pushed us over to a taxi and we all crammed inside.

"I'll be back for you Grace…when you least except it…" Carter screamed at us through the taxi window. I dug my head into Niall's shoulder and just let all my tears fall.

_~So much drama! The next chapter is going to be less drama more cute moments with the boys so be ready. Please review and tell me what you think~_

_XOXO _


	9. Bonding

Chapter 9

The taxi ride home was silent, but you could hear the boy's ragged breathing faintly. All of us just kept to ourselves until we reached the hotel. Niall let me out first which meant I had to let go of his hand that I hadn't noticed I'd been holding the whole trip. Yet, once I let go, I felt like I lost my security blanket. I waited for everyone to get out before I rushed over to Niall and grabbed ahold of his hand once again. Even though we had reached the elevators everyone still hadn't said a word and it was starting to drive me insane. On the ride up I couldn't help but think about all the drama I've put on the boys lately and that's when I realized that I'm probably a huge bother to them now. Before I could ponder on that thought anymore, Zayn suggested that we spend this night wisely since tomorrow is eliminations.

"Let's build a fort!" Louis announced out of nowhere.

"What would we make it out of?" Zayn asked as he put the key in the lock.

"Just blankets and other random stuff that can hold the blankets in place." I looked at Louis and you could just read the excitement on his face.

"I'm in!" Niall answered while nudging me in the shoulder, trying to tell me to join too.

"I guess it could be fun." Once I joined in everyone decided to join in to since they didn't really have a choice. We gathered all the blankets that we could muster up and then hung the largest one across the top bunks, to act as a roof, then one on each end. We were done in no time and once we all climbed under the blankets it was just like a huge dome on the inside.

"Wow, this actually is really cool," Zayn admitted.

"It almost feels like we are in our own little world," Liam added and we all agreed.

"How about we all go change into more comfortable clothes and then just hang out here all night long because no matter how much I hate to say it, we may all be going home tomorrow," Harry said. Instantly the mood changed because we realized that there is a good chance we may never see each other again. I'll have to leave the only friends that I've ever had and go back to my old life. We all slowly got up and changed our clothes then turned some music on and just huddled up.

"So instead of playing truth or dare how about we play truth or double truth so we can all get to know each other better," Niall suggested.

"Okay, I wanna start!" Louis raised his hand, to make it very clear he was going to go first.

"Is everyone single?" For some reason I was really hoping that all the boys were; is that a bit strange?

"You know when you play this game we are supposed to ask one person in particular not everyone," Liam stated and then just laughed at Louis mistake.

"Well this is the way that I wanted to play so…ANSWER MY QUESTIONS!" Louis screamed and we all covered our ears.

"I'm single," Niall blurted out first.

"Same here," Zayn agreed.

"What about Cher, I swear you both have feelings for each other but neither of you are brave enough to come clean," I decided to say what was on my mind and I think Zayn was a little caught off guard, but not because I was wrong but because I was right.

"Nah, I think we both just have a lot in common and like talking to each other but only as friends." Zayn was acting really defensive.

"Okay, we will let it go for now, but don't think your fully off the hook," Louis eyed him down.

"Okay what about you Liam?"

"I'm single too." I couldn't help but notice how he looked right at me. Was that supposed to be a sign? What am I thinking? I'm totally just over analyzing the situation. I just have to calm down and breathe.

"I'm also single…" Harry went next which meant it was my turn.

"So Gracie are you single? You better be because I was going to ask you to marry me and if you are dating someone then I'm going to have to kill him first. Which isn't that big of a deal just it will make us have to postpone our wedding date," Louis smirked then winked and it made me smile.

"Well you're in luck because it just so happens that I am single…" Then room instantly got quiet and no one was saying anything. What is going on? All I did was answer the question.

"YAY! GRACE WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Louis jumped over Niall who was sitting next to me and then took my hand in his.

"Of course Lou, there is no one else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with," We both were laughing hysterically and Zayn was making kissy noises.

"Okay you two break it, next question," Liam interrupted our laugh attack while changing songs on the iPod.

"Niall, if you could switch hair with any of us who would it be and why?" Zayn asked.

"Hmmmm, probably Grace's because it would be fun to have long hair for a day and I think her little curls are really cute. Maybe that would make more girls fall for me." That made everyone else burst out laughing and Niall just looked unfazed like he didn't get why it was so funny.

"Stop laughing so I can ask Harry my question!" Niall ordered but in his cute Irish accent.

"If you could eat any food for a month without getting fat what would it be?

"Ummm…it would probably be Twix the candy bars, those things are addicting." It was really nice to see everyone just care free and having a good laugh compared to all the drama that has been going on lately. No matter what the boys said I knew deep down that if I hadn't had joined their group of friends, they wouldn't of had so much drama. And I couldn't seem to get that out of my head.

"Gracie, snap out of it, it's your turn." Nail was shaking my legs to try and get my attention.

"Oh sorry, what was the question?"

"The question was how many boyfriends have you had in the past, including the ones when you were really young, like first grade young," Louis re-asked the question for me, but I really wish I would have gotten a different one. In all truth be told I've never had a boyfriend not even when I was young. If I answer this question, I'll be super embarrassed.

"I've actually never had a boyfriend before…" All the boys were giving me shocked faces and I just didn't know what to say.

"You're lying," Zayn seriously thought that I was joking.

"No I'm being serious; I've never dated someone before." Could they make this anymore uncomfortable? I can only imagine how many girlfriends they have had throughout their schools years.

"Why, were the guys are you school blind or something?" Harry asked and it made me feel a little bit better on the inside.

"At my school there are a lot of prettier girls then me so a lot of the boys liked them." It was also because when my mom died a lot of them thought that I was depressed and always a Debbie downer.

"I don't think that's possible love." I looked up and Liam was resting his hand on my knee while looking straight into my eyes.

"In high school I was a little bit of a loner so that's probably why they didn't want to talk to me." Why did I say that? Am I trying to make myself sound like a bigger loser then I already am.

"You were a loner? I can't even picture that, you're too nice for people not to want to hang out with you," this time Harry tried making me feel better.

"Can we change the subject? I think we are making Grace uncomfortable," Louis always knew when I needed saving. Liam and Louis started to interrogate Zayn about Cher which left Harry and Niall to talk to me.

"We're sorry we didn't mean to hurt your feelings or anything," Niall rested his head on my shoulder and started to play with the ends of my hair.

"It's fine, it's not that big of a deal." If only they knew how big of a deal it actually was because it's made me the self-conscious person I am today. Next thing I knew there was a pair of lips on my cheek, Niall's lips.

"What was that for?" I asked in a friendly way.

"Just a friendly peck, ya know to cheer you up." Could Niall be any cuter?

"Thanks." I could feel the blush starting to form on my cheeks.

"Anything for you Gracie." Both Niall and Harry came in for a group hug and then I felt more arms around me and realized everyone had joined in too. That's when tears started to form in my eyes. I can't picture life without them now that I have them. Just thinking about all of us going home tomorrow, breaks my heart. For once I hope something goes right for me…

_~Sorry for being gone for so long, I'll try to update as often as I can. Hope you guys still like the story, and leave a review telling me who you think Grace should end up with and why? I definitely need your guys help cause I can't decide either.~_


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